Sydney, Jan 7: Grand Slam champions Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone will meet in the first round of the Sydney International — a rematch of their 2010 French Open final won by the Italian player.
The high-profile encounter is a byproduct of the strength of the field — nine of the top 10 players in the WTA rankings are entered in tournament which begins Sunday.
Stosur, who won last year's U.S. Open, is the fifth-seeded player, while 11th-ranked Schiavone was outside the eight seeds.
Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon champion and second-seeded Petra Kvitova have first-round byes, as do No. 3 Victoria Azarenka and fourth-seeded French Open champion Li Na of China.
Juan Martin del Potro is top-seeded in the men's draw.
